Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich faced off in a thrilling FIFA Club World Cup 2025 quarterfinal clash at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. With PSG reduced to nine men, Ousmane Dembele delivered the decisive blow—and paid tribute to Diogo Jota with a memorable celebration.
After a tightly contested first half, Desire Doue broke the deadlock in the 78th minute. But PSG’s advantage was quickly threatened, as William Pacho and Lucas Hernandez were both shown straight red cards in the 82nd and 90+2 minutes. Despite the numerical disadvantage, Dembele, returning from injury, made the difference with a crucial goal to secure PSG’s place in the semifinals.
The goal came after a brilliant run down the right flank by Achraf Hakimi, who delivered a pinpoint pass back to Dembele. The French winger fired a stunning strike into the net before taking a seat and mimicking holding a video game controller—a nod to Diogo Jota’s iconic goal celebration.
Jota, known for his love of video games—especially FIFA—often celebrated goals with the same gesture. The Portuguese forward even won the ePremier League Invitational in 2021, bringing his off-field passion into his on-field persona.
Dembele, too, has long been a gaming enthusiast, especially during his time at Barcelona, where his gaming habits often drew attention from fans and the media. Now, in one of the best stretches of his career, he revisited those roots to honor a fellow gamer with a celebration that resonated far beyond the pitch.
Dembele’s decisive return to the pitch
One of PSG’s major concerns for the Club World Cup was Ousmane Dembele’s muscular injury while in international duty in early June. This forced the French forward to miss the entirety of the group stage for the Parisian side, but now he’s returned to make yet another impactful performance.
Dembele marked his return las weekend against Inter Miami in the 62nd minute with the game already settled 4-0. However, now against Bayern Munich he had to be up for the challenge since the German side was pushing strong, and with a goal in the last minutes he now marked his official return, setting expectations for what’s ahead in the Club World Cup.